England star Kevin Pietersen on Monday dropped a bombshell by suggesting that the third and final Test against South Africa might be his last.
“I can’t rule out that my next Test may be my last,” he said after winning the man-of-the-match award in the drawn second Test at Headingley after a superb innings of 149, which he followed up by taking three wickets.
Pietersen’s future was a major issue before the series against the Proteas began.
Photot: Reuters
He has already announced his retirement from from one-day international cricket, amid speculation he wanted to be available for a full Indian Premier League program, while still playing for England in the upcoming World Twenty20 in September.
“That is two of many points, but they’re not the main two points,” he said. “Let’s make that very clear, there are other points I am trying to sort out in the dressing room.”
“There are a lot of other issues. It’s absolutely 100 percent not a money issue. You’ll find out soon enough, not tonight. It will be a lot clearer after the next Test match,” he said.
Pietersen said it would be a “huge shame” if his Test career came to an end.
“I love playing Test cricket for England,” he told reporters. “The saddest part for me is that the spectators just love watching me play and I love playing for England, but the politics is what I have to deal with personally. It’s tough for me playing for England.”
Pietersen also hit out at what he suggested were media leaks about his negotiations with the England and Wales Cricket Board leading into the series.
“It was blamed on me, it was me grabbing the headlines. Did I leak anything to the media about my meetings with the ECB?” he added. “I never spoke a single word to a single journalist about anything that was spoken about behind closed doors, that I thought were closed doors.”
England captain Andrew Strauss and Pietersen attended separate press conferences.
“I don’t want to comment on what Kevin may or may not have said,” Strauss said. “I’m happy to talk about how amazingly well he played in this Test match. It was one of the best innings I have seen him play.”
“What he may or may not have said is not for me to comment on at this stage,” Strauss said.
South Africa, gunning for England’s world No. 1 Test side position, are currently 1-0 up in the series after Monday’s second Test draw. The third Test starts at Lord’s on Aug. 16.
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
New Zealand yesterday reached 231-9 at stumps on a first day of the first Test against the West Indies shortened by rain after Justin Greaves triggered a middle-order collapse with the wicket of Kane Williamson. New Zealand tumbled from 94-1 to 148-6 on a bowler-friendly wicket after Williamson was dismissed for 52, his 38th Test half-century. Michael Bracewell and Nathan Smith arrested the slide with a 52-run stand for the seventh wicket. Smith eventually fell for 23 and Bracewell for 47. After Matt Henry went for 8, Zak Foulkes and Jacob Duffy were both on 4 when bad light stopped play after 70
RSS